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Under the leadership of the New York State Education Department, this museum and research center preserves New York State's artistic, social, historical and environmental legacies through such exhibits as "Native Peoples of New York," "The Cohoes...more

Not much specifically for the kiddos, but my 3-year old still had a wonderful time. The outside grounds have a lot to explore as well. My husband and I enjoyed learning more about NY and found it to be well kept with great things to...More

This museum was a wonderful surprise. There’s so much to see and lots of information to take in from the Erie Canal to the World Trade Center, a mastodon to an Iroquois long house and much, much more. I wished we’d had more time to...More

However much time you have to spare, this is a great place to visit and there is so much to see and learn about. Don't miss the opportunity for a ride on the carousel on the top floor, they are free but you are encouraged...More

Always a great time. There is something for everyone from the Sesame Street neighborhood to the Indian Village to Old New York and the immigrants and skyscrapers to the moving World Trade exhibit. And the best thing is it is all free for all to...More

Many different exhibits to see- the history of immigrants to Ellis Is., animals, vintage fire engines, the old trolly bus, a moving section dedicated to 9/11,a SesameSt set up and much more. For old and young alike the top floor holds a century old carousel....More

My wife and I collect blue-decorated stoneware and they had a 40 piece exhibit on display. We spent time reading every write-up and hope to return sometime in the future to see the balance of the collection.
We checked out a few other exhibits and...More

This museum is free. It is well worth visiting and I might even say it should be compulsory.
Here's the bad news... There are exhibition spaces on the first and fourth floors. I expect that the space on the fourth floor is used for temporary...More

Based solely on my personal opinion, far and away the best part of the NYS Museum is the display commemorating the 911 terrorist attacks. The rest of the large museum is of moderate interest. For example, there is an excellent display of the dozens of...More

First, a quote from the museum website, then my additional commentary: "Parking is available in the two lots adjacent to the Museum, both accessed from Madison Avenue. Prior to 10:00 a.m., the weekday parking fee is $10... More

First, a quote from the museum website, then my additional commentary: "Parking is available in the two lots adjacent to the Museum, both accessed from Madison Avenue. Prior to 10:00 a.m., the weekday parking fee is $10. After 10:00 a.m., the weekday parking fee is $5. Parking is free after 2:00 p.m. and on weekends."
These lots are the most convenient, but because they're free on weekends -- when most people visit -- they tend to fill up quickly. The last time I visited, we circled around and found metered street parking about a block away. But as another commenter noted, more paid parking is available in the nearby Empire State Plaza. The state-owned facility charges $10 for weekday entry before 11am, and $5 for weekdays after 11am, or all day weekends. The Empire State Plaza provides a mostly (if not entirely) indoor walk to the museum. The main entrance to the Empire State Plaza connects directly to I-787, so it's very well-signed. Getting into the ESP directly from downtown surface streets can be a bit tricky if you don't know the downtown Albany street grid that well.

Google "New York State Museum" for their website, and then click "Visit" in the main menu to see hours (open daily except Mondays) and links to detailed information about parking. I'd paste a link here, but TripAdvisor... More

Google "New York State Museum" for their website, and then click "Visit" in the main menu to see hours (open daily except Mondays) and links to detailed information about parking. I'd paste a link here, but TripAdvisor doesn't allow links to be included in responses.
Museum admission is free, but you'll have to pay for parking UNLESS you manage to find a spot in one of the open-air lots adjacent to the museum after 2pm. Earlier than that, and it'll cost you either $5 or $10, depending on how early you arrive.
The Empire State Plaza visitors lot (well-signed and directly accessible from I-787) will put you underneath the middle of the plaza, between the Capitol Building and the Museum. The plaza itself is an indoor facility, so you don't need to worry much about rainy weather.

We did not stay in the downtown area due to cost, but we did arrive downtown early in the day and easily parked at the New York State Museum visitor parking ($10 for the day). The parking lot did fill by mid/late morning... More

We did not stay in the downtown area due to cost, but we did arrive downtown early in the day and easily parked at the New York State Museum visitor parking ($10 for the day). The parking lot did fill by mid/late morning. As you face the entrance of the museum on Madison Avenue, the drive to the parking lot is on the right side of the building.